Jetstar flights to Queenstown increased to meet demand for winter holidays

Jetstar has added about 250 extra flights to Queenstown this ski season, marking the 13th year the airline has increased capacity to Aotearoa’s favourite winter city.

Executive manager of customers, Jenn Armor, said the extra flights were to keep up with ever-rising demand.

“This ski season, we’re expecting to fly a record number of passengers to and from Queenstown and have added nearly 25,000 low-fares seats to meet increased demand.”

The airline expects to fly more than 220,000 people to and from Queenstown between July and October; 10% more than in 2023.

Additional flights have been added to the most popular domestic route to the southern resort town, Auckland-Queenstown. Four extra flights per week will run during winter.

The most popular transtasman route is from Sydney to Queenstown, the airline said.

Extra flights mean Jetstar will run about 250 more flights to and from Queenstown this winter compared to pre-Covid.

Jetstar said travel to and from Queenstown peaks around the school holidays; something Auckland Airport also noted when it advised of the days it expects the airport to be busiest these school holidays.

The airport also shared the most popular international and domestic destinations, which included Queenstown.

If you’re one of the many people heading to New Zealand’s adventure capital, we’ve rounded up the five best things to do this winter above and beyond the classic favourites.

Those seeking a carbon-zero trip or something that treads lightly on the Earth can simply steal Jessie Mulligan’s Queenstown itinerary, which features places playing their part to be sustainable.

Sales and accusations fly this week

It’s been a busy week for airfare and airline news, with Air New Zealand and Jetstar announcing sales for domestic and international flights respectively within 24 hours of each other.

However, Kiwis may need to temper their excitement according to an analysis by Consumer NZ, which found certain domestic fares are between 34% and 297% higher than in 2019 and 2020.

The study, which compared Air New Zealand flights, has been described as “misleading” by the airline, which said it did not factor in rising base costs that have forced fares to increase.